"Spiritual But Not Religious" is a phrase you hear more and more these days and with good reason. In 2012, a Pew Foundation survey on religion found that almost 20 percent of Americans placed themselves in the category of "unaffiliated."

That 20 percent unaffiliated translates into a whole lot of people. It's a big enough number that, most likely, your next airport van ride will include someone without traditional religious attachments onboard.

But to really appreciate the importance of this 20 percent in the landscape of American life, you have to consider one more number: 10 years.

That's how long it's been since philosopher Sam Harris published his book The End of Faith and kick-started the New Atheist movement. Along with writers like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennett, Harris was unapologetic in his denunciation of literalist religious beliefs.

Looking back, New Atheism was at its best when it provided a clear defense of reason against the many fundamentalisms that only look backward. At its worst, however, it dismissed all experiences of "spirituality" as worthless, pudding-headed confusion.

For persistent readers, however, Harris's now decade-old book held a surprise. In the last chapter, this fiery critic of religion argued that real spiritual experience was not only possible, it was a kind of birthright. I remember getting to that last chapter and thinking, "Whoa, what just happened?

What happened was Harris, like many in the 20 percent, had always found meaning in experiences of personal spirituality. Those experiences now take center stage in Harris's latest book Waking Up.

Harris's first step on this new journey is to give up being squeamish about language. As he writes:

"... I will use spiritual, mystical, contemplative and transcendent without apology. However, I will be precise in describing the experiences and methods which merit those terms."

Next, he tells us why these experiences matter: "Spirituality begins with a reverence for the ordinary that can lead us to insights and experiences that are anything but ordinary."

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What does being 'spiritual but not religious' really mean?

"Spiritual But Not Religious" is a phrase you hear more and more these days and with good reason. In 2012, a Pew Foundation survey on religion found that almost 20 percent of Americans placed themselves in the category of "unaffiliated."

That 20 percent unaffiliated translates into a whole lot of people. It's a big enough number that, most likely, your next airport van ride will include someone without traditional religious attachments onboard.

But to really appreciate the importance of this 20 percent in the landscape of American life, you have to consider one more number: 10 years.

That's how long it's been since philosopher Sam Harris published his book The End of Faith and kick-started the New Atheist movement. Along with writers like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennett, Harris was unapologetic in his denunciation of literalist religious beliefs.

Looking back, New Atheism was at its best when it provided a clear defense of reason against the many fundamentalisms that only look backward. At its worst, however, it dismissed all experiences of "spirituality" as worthless, pudding-headed confusion.

For persistent readers, however, Harris's now decade-old book held a surprise. In the last chapter, this fiery critic of religion argued that real spiritual experience was not only possible, it was a kind of birthright. I remember getting to that last chapter and thinking, "Whoa, what just happened?

What happened was Harris, like many in the 20 percent, had always found meaning in experiences of personal spirituality. Those experiences now take center stage in Harris's latest book Waking Up.

Harris's first step on this new journey is to give up being squeamish about language. As he writes:

"... I will use spiritual, mystical, contemplative and transcendent without apology. However, I will be precise in describing the experiences and methods which merit those terms."

Next, he tells us why these experiences matter: "Spirituality begins with a reverence for the ordinary that can lead us to insights and experiences that are anything but ordinary."

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Does Being 'Spiritual But Not Religious' Really Mean Anything?

By Dr Eben Alexander

Published: 19:29 EST, 20 October 2014 | Updated: 03:11 EST, 21 October 2014

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Leading neurosurgeon Dr Eben Alexander was sceptical when anyone said they had experienced the after-life. But then he had a similar experience after going into a coma. In our final extract from his book, The Map Of Heaven, Dr Alexander who has worked at Harvard Medical School explains that there is one thing that endures after we die: love.

Science cannot explain the after-life. For many people who use scientific evidence as the sole basis of their belief system, this must mean the after-life doesnt exist.

According to them, death is the end and heaven is a convenient lie we tell to ourselves and our children.

My 25-year career as an academic neuro- scientist, studying the workings of the brain, led me to the conclusion that life after death was a brain-based illusion until I experienced a journey into the hereafter during a coma after developing meningitis.

Now I hold a very different view: the after- life is real. If science doesnt recognise this fact, then it is doing two things wrong.

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Dr Eben Alexander has lost his scepticism about the after-life

Bethlehem

Students at Bethlehem Central Middle School will soon be asked to fill out a 96-question survey to assess their character strengths. Four of those questions ask about faith: "I have a faith that I practice, I feel better when I pray, I believe there is a higher power that points me to do the right thing, There is a higher power looking out for my best interests."

Some parents said they object to those questions being asked in a public school.

"If it's a tool for discussion, it's OK, but I don't want my daughter to be judged because she is not a person of faith," said Donna Patterson, a mother of a Bethlehem eighth-grader.

The survey is part of a schoolwide effort to promote positive values. The school hosts pizza parties for students who display good character traits like caring, respect and fairness. Teachers give out Eagle Awards throughout the school day to students who show acts of kindness, courtesy and cooperation. A lunch table is set aside each week to recognize students who behave positively during lunch.

Taking the survey is optional. Students who fill it out will enter their email address and unique student ID number. The principal and teachers will see individual students' responses, according to parents who attended a recent PTO meeting where the survey was discussed.

"I'm all for it," said Kathleen Gleason, who is curious to see how her eighth-grader scores on spirituality. It doesn't matter what God they pray to or what church they attend, but faith is something everyone needs in their life, Gleason said.

"Unfortunately, some people will disagree with this," she said about the survey. "They always say don't talk about politics or religion in school."

Several parents said they don't object to the spiritual questions, but wondered why a public school would delve into that touchy area.

The Bethlehem Central School District did not respond to questions about the survey or a request to interview principal Michael Klugman for this story.

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Faith questions concern parents

Illustration: John Spooner

A national act of collective boredom broke out on Sunday when education minister Christopher Pyne, in uncharacteristically subdued mode, announced the publication and the gist of his review of the national curriculum. This review had been carried out in the first half of 2014 by two controversial appointees, Kevin Donnelly and Ken Wiltshire, both men with connections to the Liberal party and both columnists for The Australian..

Pyne's Sunday-best dress and demeanour was that of a serious and sober politician who had taken on board Liberal Party director Brian Loughnane's August speech to his parliamentary colleagues to back off on the ideology. Backflipping on his previous position, Pyne commented that, " Politics is too trivial for getting the curriculum right".

Journalists, mostly caught by surprise (not so much The Australian which has a pipeline to Coalition governments), scrambled to get Sunday quotes from their contacts. The subsequent Fairfax press consensus was that the Donnelly/Wiltshire document marked the end of the culture wars. Unusually, the Oz agreed with Fairfax and was also pleased that their boys had done so well. The Guardian however went out on a limb, and thought the review would provoke a new bout of the history wars.

As it happens, the document is a bit of a ho-hum effort on the topic of history. In effect, it is a case of slogans in and slogans out. By this I mean that the review simply repeats the political slogans that have been bruited about since 2006 by culture warriors The Oz, the IPA and Christopher Pyne.

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For instance, following the IPA line, Pyne and Donnelly have, prior to the review, argued for more emphasis on Australia's "Judeo-Christian heritage/tradition". This advocacy of a seemingly benign phenomenon blithely ignores (and this is an unintended irony) the historical background to the phrase, first as a 1980s Cold War anti-Soviet slogan and more recently as a Tea Party anti-Islam propaganda mantra.

Lo and behold, the review argues that students need to spend more time on Australia's Judeo-Christian heritage. There is another irony here. If students did spend more time on Australia's "Judeo-Christian heritage", it would be a very short project and they would quickly discover that it is a neoconservative Christian myth. And it is a myth ignores the substantial contribution of the (pagan) contribution of Greek philosophy and politics as well as the huge contribution of (also pagan) Roman law, civic policy, architecture and literature to our cultural heritage.

There is more. Donnelly and Wiltshire advocate more emphasis on "morals, values and spirituality" as well as the "achievements" of Western civilisation, a Liberal refrain that has bedevilled curriculum politics for more than a decade now. How can I deal with these ideas tactfully and politely? Well, here goes. First, in a multicultural society, we have the issue of whose morals, whose values and whose spirituality?

Second, the study of real history, at whatever level, is about investigation not about indoctrination. Third, history is not about developing "spirituality" which is based on revelation, unless it investigates the spiritual as an historical phenomenon. And it's a real struggle to get this latter point through to the religious Right who see revelation as historical fact. They might change their approach if sections of Australia's sizeable Islamic community advocated teaching Year 9s how Mohammed received his Koranic revelation from the angel Gabriel.

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Curriculum review a ho-hum effort on history

Its been a long path for Oregon State University biology professor Dee Denver, working to identify the common ground between science and Buddhism and a Monday presentation on the topic is just another step on the journey.

Denver, an associate professor in OSUs Department of Integrative Biology, is the featured speaker at the October edition of Corvallis Science Pub, scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the Old World Deli in downtown Corvallis. The event is free.

Heres a bit of a spoiler alert: Denver, whos been studying the topic for more than 10 years now, believes that there are many unexpected points of harmony between science and Buddhism and he plans during his talk Monday to test key Buddhist tenets by subjecting them to the scientific method.

Denver is looking forward to Mondays talk as a chance to share his research to a broader audience of people with a scientific bent. And it should help him as he gears up for the next leg of the journey: Hes under contract with the Harvard University Press for a book on the topic. A first draft is finished, and Denver said hes working on rewrites.

In a recent interview with Mid-Valley Health, Denver talked about how he started exploring the links between science and Buddhism, and previewed just a bit of his Science Pub presentation.

It started at another intersection of faith and science.

Denver was working as a graduate student at an evolutionary biology lab at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, at a time when the region was embroiled in a controversy over whether science textbooks should carry disclaimers about evolution.

His laboratory, Denver recalled, inevitably was drawn into the debate.

And Denver was very much shaped by an anti-religion view that is common among evolutionary biologists. That attitude, he said, just gets projected onto everything else thats not science. You assume that everything else just has to be baloney.

Flash forward a few years, as Denver tackled postdoctoral work at Indiana University. As it turned out, the head of the universitys Buddhism studies program was the brother of the Dalai Lama and invited his famous brother to Bloomington to help dedicate an interfaith temple.

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Corvallis Science Pub speaker Dee Denver explores connections between spirituality and science

Over the past five years, I have read many wellness-related books and most have had a positive impact on my view of health and fitness.

There is no end to great books which address amazing nutrition, awesome workout regimens and wonderfully motivational spirituality. But every so often, we read a book here or there that really sticks with us.

This week, I wanted to share five books which profoundly influenced me to move from the shadows of processed foods, leave the ranks of the chronically sedentary and embrace a balanced life of mindfulness.

Here are my five recommended must-reads:

"The Book of Secrets" by Deepak Chopra

This book comes from Chopra's strong understanding of eastern philosophy blended with his deep understanding of the human mind. Chopra does a great job of balancing western thinking with what some may see as eastern mysticism.

"The Book of Secrets" transcends old and outdated beliefs and gives you a new set of thought-provoking ideas and concepts. The book is divided into 15 "secrets" of spirituality, or perhaps better described as levels of consciousness. Chopra does a great job diving into the 15 aspects and gives good examples of incorporating each into your own life.

The book gives a unique insight into three key areas, mind, body and spirit. It's an amazing read for anyone with a deep interest in elevating their understanding of a higher consciousness. If you are someone needing to reset your views and find your truth in life, I would recommend this book as a great starting point.

"Wheat Belly" by William Davis

"Wheat Belly" has a lot of answers I was not able to find in other similar books. A few years ago, I was interested in learning more about ancient wheat and how it differs from today's heavily hybridized varieties. It is amazing how dramatically far we have taken some varieties of wheat.

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A few great books

Who would have thought that a simple thank you is worthy of a scientific study?

Robert Emmons, Ph.D., and professor at the University of California, Davis, has written the first major scientific study on gratitude - its causes, and potential impact on human health. Published findings from his studies have shown that a conscious focus on blessings improved moods, coping skills and overall physical well-being.

Emmons says, Gratitude is one of the few things that can measurably heal, energize and change peoples lives. It is a turning of the mind, not what I dont have, but what I have already.

As Canadians head into their Thanksgiving holiday, many will gather around a family table and acknowledge their blessings. Still, for many, there will be a but after the thank you. It sounds like this: Thanks, BUT I really need a bigger house, more friends, that promotion, etc.

Ingratitude blocks the ability to see what we already have. Inspiration from a well-used guidebook in my life asks the question: Are we really grateful for the good already received? And follows with the promise: Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more.

Its clear that being satisfied with what we have is crucial to our well-being. Thats not always easy. And, it might help if we take a look at the source of the good in our lives and how understanding and acknowledging that regularly can result in blessings that might at first seem impossible.

A well-known historical example of what gratitude right in the midst of what looked like real lack produces is when Jesus was faced with feeding a crowd of thousands. His disciples saw that they did not have enough to satisfy their needs. He did not see it as lack; he saw it as a misperception of the fact that God - not the sea or the land - provides everything we need. In his view, since God is infinite, there could be no limit to His provision for the crowd. He expressed gratitude for what they had before he instructed that the crowd be fed. They were satisfied - and even took home leftovers!

If true satisfaction comes from an understanding that the good in our life has a constant source in the Divine, then we can and should acknowledge ongoing, infinite good even when the evidence is not immediately apparent.

My friend, Carol, confirmed Emmons findings on how a conscious focus on blessings can improve health. She told me of a time when everyone around her had all the symptoms of the flu. She awoke one morning with similar symptoms, but immediately started going over everything she had to be grateful for and acknowledging the ever-present, Divine source of all good in her life. She could see that since sickness isnt good, it isnt from, or of, God. So, she could refuse to let it have any effect on her well-being. Very quickly, she felt totally well and energized, and went about her day.

Gratitude unlocks the door to understanding that the good in our lives has a constant source in the Divine. Little wonder it leads to better health.

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A married couple from Sydney have told the Synod on the family that parishes should welcome same-sex couples, following the example of parents who invite their son and his male partner to their home for Christmas.

"The Church constantly faces the tension of upholding the truth while expressing compassion and mercy. Families face this tension all the time," Ron and Mavis Pirola said yesterday:"Take homosexuality as an example. Friends of ours were planning their Christmas family gathering when their gay son said he wanted to bring his partner home, too. They fully believed in the Church's teachings and they knew their grandchildren would see them welcome the son and his partner into the family. Their response could be summed up in three words: 'He is our son.' "

"What a model of evangelisation for parishes as they respond to similar situations in their neighbourhood," the Pirolas said.

While Catholic teaching says homosexual people should not be discriminated against, it holds that homosexual acts are always immoral and that marriage can only be a union between one man.

The full testimony ofRon and Mavis Pirola follows:

Fifty-seven years ago, I looked across a room and saw a beautiful young woman. We came to know each other over time and eventually took the huge step of committing ourselves to each other in marriage. We soon found that living our new life together was extraordinarily complex. Like all marriages, we have had wonderful times together and also times of anger, frustration and tears and the nagging fear of a failed marriage. Yet here we are, 55 years married and still in love. It certainly is a mystery.

That attraction that we first felt and the continued bonding force between us was basically sexual. The little things we did for each other, the telephone calls and love notes, the way we planned our day around each other and the things we shared were outward expressions of our longing to be intimate with each other.

As each of our four children arrived, it was an exhilarating joy for which we still thank the Lord daily. Of course, the complexities of parenting had great rewards and challenges. There were nights when we would lie awake wondering where we had gone wrong.

Our faith in Jesus was important to us. We went to Mass together and looked to the Church for guidance. Occasionally we looked at Church documents but they seemed to be from another planet with difficult language1 and not terribly relevant to our own experiences.

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Australian couple tells Synod: Parishes should welcome gay couples